I have owned more cheap spinning combos than I care to admit. The kind that feel fine in the store and then develop a loose reel seat, a spongy drag, or a bent tip by the third trip. A few years ago I finally got tired of replacing them and picked up an Ugly Stik 7-foot catfish spinning combo, mostly out of curiosity. It is now the rod that lives in my truck, and it has earned that spot the hard way.
Tough does not mean heavy and clumsy, and it does not mean indestructible. It means the gear does what you need on a cold, wet morning and still does it next season. I fish walleye and pike on the Missouri River reservoirs and the glacial lakes around Mitchell, South Dakota, from a 16-foot aluminum boat, from the bank, and through the ice. That is a lot of different jobs for one rod, and this combo has handled all of them.
A spinning combo that takes a beating and keeps fishing
The Ugly Stik 7-foot catfish combo has bounced around my boat, my truck, and the ice for three seasons without quitting. If you are tired of replacing cheap combos, this is the one to look at first.
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It survived getting stepped on in the bottom of my boat
Two summers ago I was reaching for the net on Lake Francis Case and planted my boot square on this rod. It made the kind of crack I have heard from every other rod I have owned, the sound that means a trip to the dumpster. When I picked it up, the blank was fine. Not a chip, not a soft spot, nothing. I have dropped it on gravel ramps, bounced it around the bottom of a 16-foot aluminum boat, and knocked it against rod holders more times than I can count. That one moment told me more than any spec sheet could.
The clear tip shows bites you would otherwise miss
Last October I was fishing a slip bobber for walleye on the James River when a fish hit so soft that I almost missed it. I happened to be watching the rod tip, and the clear tip twitched a full second before I felt anything. That extra beat is what let me set the hook. On a darker, stiffer blank I would have been late and the fish would have been gone. If you fish light bites, and most walleye bites are light, that clear tip earns its keep.
Seven feet of reach when you are stuck on the bank
I do most of my early spring fishing from the bank, and getting a bait past the mudline is half the battle. The 7-foot rod lets me cast a leech rig a good twenty feet farther than my old six-footer ever did. That extra distance has put me into fish I simply could not reach before. When the fish are holding just past the weed edge, that reach is the difference between a quiet morning and a limit.
Two pieces that fit behind the seat of a pickup
This combo is a two-piece rod, which I used to think of as a compromise. Now I think of it as the reason the rod is always with me. It rides behind the seat of my older full-size pickup, out of the weather and out of the way. When I get off work at the county shop, I can be on the water in twenty minutes without swinging by home. A one-piece rod that stays in the basement is no good to anyone.
Moderate fast action sets hooks without tearing bait
I use circle hooks for most of my catfish fishing, and a rod that is too stiff will pull the hook right out of a fish's mouth. The moderate fast action on this Ugly Stik lets the hook do its job while still giving me enough backbone to set a treble on a pike. It is a forgiving action that works whether I am fishing a stink bait on the bottom or casting a crankbait along a breakline. One rod, both jobs, no excuses.
The drag is smooth enough for a fish that wants to run
Last June a channel cat that I guessed at fifteen pounds hit a cut bait on the Missouri and took line on three separate runs. Each time, the drag on this reel let out just enough line without stuttering or sticking. A drag that sticks is how you lose big fish and break light line. I have owned reels that cost three times as much with drags that were not this predictable. For a combo reel, that is saying something.
It stays workable in cold weather
I ice fish the glacial lakes most of the winter, and gear that stiffens up in the cold is worthless. This combo has spent plenty of mornings in single-digit temperatures, and the guides stay smooth and the reel keeps turning. The blank does not get brittle and the line flows off the spool the way it should. When your fingers are numb and the wind is cutting through you, you do not want to be fighting your equipment too.
One combo that covers walleye, pike, and catfish
I do not have room in the boat or the budget for a different rod for every species. This Ugly Stik has handled slip bobbers for walleye in the spring, bottom rigs for channel cats in the summer, and jigging on the ice in the winter. It is not the perfect tool for any one of those jobs, but it is a solid tool for all of them. For a weekend angler who fishes whatever is biting, that versatility is worth more than a rack of specialty rods.
The reel seat and guides do not come loose
The cheap combos I used to buy all failed the same way. The reel seat would work itself loose, and the guides would start to twist after a few hard fish. After three seasons, the reel seat on this Ugly Stik is still tight and every guide is exactly where it should be. I check my gear before every trip, and this is the rod I check last, because I already know what I am going to find.
It is the combo I hand to someone else without wincing
My wife Deb fishes with me when she gets the chance, and my buddy from the road crew borrows gear more than he should. This is the rod I hand them, because I know it will survive whatever they do to it. A rod you are afraid to loan out is a rod you do not really trust. This one has been handed over a dozen times and come back in one piece every time, and that says more about it than any review I could write.
What I'd Skip
If you are a tournament walleye angler who needs a featherweight graphite blank to feel a jig tick along the bottom, this is not that rod. It is heavier than a premium graphite rod, and the reel, while dependable, is not going to win any smoothness awards against a dedicated premium reel. If your fishing is all light jigs and finesse presentations, you want a lighter, more sensitive setup. This combo is a workhorse, and a workhorse is not a scalpel.
I stepped on this rod in the bottom of my boat and it did not crack. That is when I stopped worrying about it.
The rod that has earned its spot in my truck
Three seasons of walleye, pike, and catfish, and the Ugly Stik combo is still the first rod I grab. If you are tired of replacing cheap combos, it is worth a look at today's price on Amazon.
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